German State of Bavaria Wants to Close Southern Border With Austria Due to the Latter’s ‘Irresponsible Behaviour’

The relaxation of lockdown measures imposed previously by the Austrian authorities in order to control the number of COVID-19 cases in Austria has angered the German State of Bavaria, the authorities of which have threatened to close the southern border with Austria, calling the latter’s relaxed measures ‘irresponsible behavior.’

After schools, hairdressers and museums reopened on Monday in Austria under strict hygiene rules, with the Government finally easing the lockdown imposed six weeks ago, the Bavarian authorities have criticized the measures.

Talking to German media on February 9, the CSU General Secretary Markus Blume said that Bavaria is considering closing its border with Austria, calling the relaxed measures ‘irresponsible behavior.’

“What Austria is doing is irresponsible from our point of view,” Blume said, calling for border controls to be intensified.

“Border closure must also be a possibility (as a) last resort,” he added.

Through a tweet, Blume has also accused Austria and the Czech Republic of jeopardizing the success of Germany in managing the Coronavirus pandemic.

At the same time, Bavaria’s Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann told the Münchner Merkur he supported stricter borders with Austria, asserting that borders between the Czech Republic and Austria should be ‘very closely’ monitored.

The move to relax lockdown measures in Austria comes at a time when data shows that the economy of the country has suffered drastic damages, with a 4.3 percent contraction marked in the last quarter of 2020, compared to the third, which makes it the worst-performing EU country within the same period.

Commenting on the new measures, the Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz told to media last Sunday that the relaxation of the measures is happening as fewer and fewer people are complying with the rules.

“It makes no sense to remain in a strict lockdown while the population’s willingness to participate is declining,” he said.

While restrictions within Austria have relaxed, the authorities have announced tougher entry rules starting from Wednesday, February 10, obliging arrivals to register online and show negative PCR test results.

All arrivals will also have to self-isolate for a period of ten days, with the possibility of leaving the isolation earlier if they test after five days and result negative again.

Once a week, cross-border commuters will also have to register online and present negative PCR or antigen test results, a requirement that previously did not exist for this category.

At the same time, the Austrian authorities have prolonged border controls with Czechia and Slovakia due to the current pandemic situation in all three.

The number of COVID-19 cases in Germany is 2,296,326 (27,354 cases for one million population), while since the beginning of the pandemic, 426,093 cases have been marked in Austria (47,146 cases for one million population).